The present invention relates to filter cartridges for fluids and more particularly, to high surface area, replaceable filter cartridges for gas or liquid filtration applications.
Efforts to increase the effective filter area while minimizing filtration unit size have led to a variety of filter arrangements in which a flat filter sheet is folded into a pleated structure. The pleated filter element is then assembled in a filter cartridge which provides support for the filter and the necessary structure for channeling the fluid to be filtered through the filter element. One such filter and filter cartridge is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,739, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention improves on the subject matter described in the above patent by increasing the structural integrity of the filter cartridge and the interface between the filter element and the filter cartridge to prevent leakage of the final assembly.